Date: 2025
Medium: Acrylic paint on PETG relief, di-bond, aluminium.
Dimensions: 100cm (h) x 100cm (w) (each).
Normal Paintings adopts aspects of ‘normal map pass’ colour scheme, which is a diagnostic view mode in 3D computer graphics used to reveal the direction and angle of object surfaces. Here colour is used as an informational tool so that the presence of red, green or blue data reveals the direction of the surface textures on 3D models. ‘cobble_stone low res’ and ‘cobble_stone high res’ are two 3D representations of a 1990s video game brick texture and hand-painted these through layers of paint where the red, green and blue colours are applied at different directions to the relief surface. The paintings are both sculptural and informational, involving the transposition of 2D imagery, once the architecture of virtual worlds, into simulated geometry that is subsequently materialised using 3D printing. These planes become canvases for layers of colours and iridescent glazes which produce spatial effects from their surfaces.
Also in this series are Tessendorf 01 and Tessendorf 02, 3D reliefs depicting ‘Tessendorf’ planes, the name of a mode of generating the geometry for oceans in 3D and video game production, their name Tessendorf coming from the mathematician who wrote the paper describing the algorithmic process in 2002. Derivatives of Tessendorf algorithms are still used today in modern 3D design applications and video game simulation, and here is used as a means to produce spatial-optical experiences. Their production pipeline means the objects are collisions of image files, digital geometry, 3D printing artefacts, and directionally applied layers of paint.
